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Dorian Gray Memorandum Summary
Dorian Gray Memorandum Summary
EXAMS/TESTS
Influence
The Picture of Dorian Gray is about Dorian Gray's loss of innocence. Critically discuss the
extent to which you agree with the above statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½
pages).
[25]
Influence
‘It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the
same afterwards.’ Critically discuss the validity of this statement in relation to Dorian Gray.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½
pages).
[25]
Influence
The Picture of Dorian Gray illustrates the dangers of a society without moral boundaries.
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with the above statement. Your response
should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
Influence
Dorian Gray is not essentially evil. He is a victim of the society he lives in. Critically
assess the validity of this statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½
pages).
[25]
In a carefully planned essay of 400−450 words (2−2½ pages) in length, critically discuss to
what extent Dorian Gray’s character shaped his life
[25]
In other words, his personality and the choices he made determined his life. Because he
was weak of character and easily influenced, he was responsible for his own downfall.
Influence
‘Each of the three main characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray is responsible to some
degree for Dorian Gray’s moral corruption.’
Discuss the validity of this statement, providing evidence to support your view. Your
response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400- 450 words (2-2½ pages).
[25]
consequence of choices made
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The Picture of Dorian Gray is a depiction of the devastating consequences that arise from
either a misinterpretation of aestheticism or a failure to embrace it in its entirety.
Evaluate the above statement considering the events developing in The Picture of Dorian
Gray.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½
pages).
[25]
‘What should he do if Basil Hallward came and asked to look at his own picture? Basil would
be sure to do that. No; the thing had to be examined, and at once.’
Critically discuss the ways in which the portrait in The Picture of Dorian Gray functions
symbolically in the novel.
In an essay of 400 – 450 words discuss this statement with reference to specific characters.
[25]
In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian is shaped in different ways by his
picture. The portrait is amazingly accurate in ultimately gaining control of the life of its
subject. Critically assess the validity of this statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400 – 450 words (2 – 2 ½
pages).
[25]
There are elements of Gothic fiction appearing in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Discuss the
validity of this statement in relation to developments in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed and substantiated essay of 400–
450 words (2–2½ pages).
[25]
Individuals in The Picture of Dorian Gray demonstrates that Art (illusion) is more significant
than Life (Reality). Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with the above statement.
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450 words (2–2½
pages).
[25]
2
An essay of influence is also an essay of consequence. Any kind of influence has
consequences:
SUMMARY
Dorian Gray
4
Dorian has ambivalent feelings toward the portrait and his immoral behaviour. He takes
pleasure in living a double life and is both intrigued and horrified by the deterioration of
the portrait.
Dorian grapples with his conscience; his lack of moral strength prevents him from
redeeming himself.
James Vane raises Dorian’s awareness that there are consequences to his actions and
makes him realise that he cannot live only via the senses.
When Dorian can no longer deny the reality of the ugliness of his soul, he destroys the
portrait and finally reveals the truth of his debauchery.
In the end, Dorian is responsible for the choices he has made, to live a life of excess and
self-indulgence, and becoming involved in increasingly sinful behaviour.
Total: 1190 words
Basil Hallward
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Basil decides to destroy the portrait, but Dorian says it would be tantamount to ‘murder’.
This personification is an indication of how real the portrait is to Dorian.
It is at this moment that Dorian Gray’s obsession with his youth and beauty initiates loss
of innocence.
When Basil realizes that Dorian is behaving the way he does because of Lord Henry’s
influence, he refers to the painting as being the ‘real Dorian’.
Total: 466 words
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Total: 399 words
Sibyl Vane
Sibyl Vane’s artistry allows Dorian to escape reality. His love for her is an illusion based
on the characters she plays rather than who she really is.
Sibyl’s love for Dorian makes her aware that the Art is only a reflection of life.
Sibyl rejects her Art in order to experience the reality of love. She then starts to perform
poorly and this leads to Dorian rejecting her.
Lord Henry influences Dorian to reject her.
When Dorian rejects Sibyl and sees the effect his actions have on the portrait, he is
appalled and resolves to make amends. Unfortunately, he is unable to do so because
Sibyl commits suicide.
Sibyl’s limited experience of life outside the theatre and her referring to Dorian as Prince
Charming indicates her inability to distinguish between romantic notions of love and
reality. This leads to her suicide after she is discarded by Dorian.
Total: 153 words
The novel introduces Dorian Gray to us through his portrait; this establishes the
importance of Aestheticism and Art at the time.
Basil is worried that his feelings for Dorian have been exposed; homosexuality was not
accepted by Victorian society at the time.
Lord Henry and the portrait are not the only influence in Dorian’s life. Victorian society’s
focus on Aestheticism and Art also contributes to Dorian’s loss of innocence.
Dorian’s life of pleasure and degradation gives him a reputation as a person of ill repute.
His reputation precedes him and men of good upbringing choose to leave a room when
Dorian enters.
Dorian is soon excluded from social events.
Dorian’s liaison with unsavoury individuals, his inhabiting of opium dens and generally
sinful behaviour all point to a man who wilfully chooses to indulge himself and is
responsible for making his own decisions. Because he is responsible for his choices,
society rejects him.
Total: 158 words
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The Portrait
The portrait is used symbolically to give insights into Dorian Gray as a character and
develop the themes of the novel as well as a critical comment on Victorian society.
The picture is symbolically a mirror that represents Dorian’s inner appearance.
His hedonistic depravity is shown in the portrait with each sin he commits while he
remains young and beautiful.
Upon first seeing the portrait he realises his own beauty and becomes fraught with
despair upon realising that his beauty will fade.
He makes an inadvertent wish that the picture ages instead of him.
The picture becomes a symbol for his narcissism and vanity – a visible interpretation of
Dorian’s soul.
It later reveals his distorted values – he values his own beauty more than his soul.
When Dorian hides the picture in the old school room it symbolises him hiding his vices
from the world – what and who he really is.
The picture is the opposite of what he presents to the world. It is a symbol for his furtive,
dark life of crime and sin.
It also symbolises his rotting soul and the neglect thereof.
A symbol of his evil heart and nature.
The painting reflects the effects of the sins and depravity on Dorian’s soul – which has
become ‘bestial, sodden and unclean’.
The portrait is also a symbol of Dorian’s conscience.
The very first change that he notices occurs soon after he leaves Sybil in the most horrid
way possible.
The shock of realising that his ‘wish’ had come true makes him want to change – but it is
too late.
It becomes a constant reminder and record of his evil, harmful and depraved deeds.
He also seems to derive a perverse pleasure from seeing the portrait change.
One could imply that it represents the fragmentation of the body and soul.
Lord Henry had warned against it when he said that nothing can cure the senses but the
soul and nothing can cure the soul but the senses.
The picture also symbolises what Victorian society was trying to repress.
Victorian society was concerned with respectability, but much of this respectability was
only on the surface.
Their sins and debauchery were concealed under their outward respectability just as
Dorian’s sins are hidden by the portrait.
Total: 396 words
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The Goth Theme
The Devil
Quite early, it becomes apparent that the devil is impersonated by Lord Henry Wotton or
he is the Devil’s Advocate.
Lord Henry is a wicked, malicious man who often utters aphorisms, uses his wisdom to
seduce and to spoil Dorian with his new hedonism and his immoral opinions.
Lord Henry also gives Dorian the poisonous yellow book, which totally fascinates him
and influences him badly; he even brings him to the loss of his “natural” innocence and
makes him a murderer.
The atmosphere
The scary atmosphere, the most striking device of Gothic fiction, is created several times
throughout the novel. One of these scenes is the moment Dorian shows Basil the room
where he hides the painting.
The supernatural
There is no rational explanation for the fact that the picture ages and changes, while
Dorian himself doesn’t. It is the supernatural element, which makes the whole plot work.
The most supernatural moment of the novel is the end, when Dorian dies and his dead
body is old and wrinkled, and the picture recovers its old state magically.
The doppelganger-motif
The theme of the doppelganger appears regularly in the Gothic literature, as a
consequence of the scientific belief that there is a certain inner duality in every human
being.
In Dorian Gray, the doppelganger-motif doesn’t appear in its original form. But, the spell
which is put on Dorian and the painting certainly reminds of the doppelganger-motif. On
one hand, there is Dorian’s outward appearance which doesn’t change at all for eighteen
years, on the other hand there is Basil’s marvelous painting, which changes accordingly
to Dorian Gray’s character.
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Horror and violence break out suddenly and completely unexpected: When Dorian
shows Basil Hallward the altered painting, Dorian feels a sudden wave of hatred for
Basil.
Bad science
In The picture of Dorian Gray, the science theme appears, when Dorian blackmails Alan
Campbell (a former friend if him who’s a scientist) to get rid of Basil’s dead body by
dissolving it (chapter 14), Campbell’s equipment is described this way: [...] the servant
entered, carrying a large mahogany chest of chemicals, with a long coil of steel and
platinum wire and two rather curiously-shaped iron.
The description of Campbell’s chemicals and gadgets isn’t positive; it even reminds of
the torture devices and diabolical machines known from other Gothic novels.
The science theme can also be found in the relationship between Lord Henry Wotton
and Dorian Gray himself: Lord Henry seems to treat Dorian as the subject of an
experiment.
The picture of Dorian Gray is not a typical Gothic novel, but it contains more Gothic elements
than one would believe after reading it superficially.
Total: 699 words
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Art (illusion) and Life (reality)
Victorian Society
Dorian Gray’s introduction through his portrait establishes the importance of Art in
Victorian society.
Wealthy members of society expose the poor to Art so that it can alleviate their suffering.
The consequence of this callous attitude is the resentment the poor have for the wealthy.
Basil
Initially Basil refers to art as a reflection of himself. He refers to the portrait as being ‘part
of [himself]’, which suggests he is unable to separate himself from the image in the
portrait.
Basil was able to capture the essence of Dorian’s soul in the portrait.
When Basil sees Dorian has been influenced by Lord Henry, he says the Dorian in the
portrait is the ‘real Dorian’. This indicates Basil’s failure to discriminate between illusion
and reality.
When Basil wants to destroy the portrait, Dorian says it would be tantamount to ‘murder’.
This personification is an indication of how real the portrait is to Dorian and obviously to
Basil.
The Portrait
Later the painting gains a life of its own becoming the physical representation of Dorian’s
life of excess. In this way Art represents real life.
Dorian
In Dorian’s mind the line between Art and reality becomes blurred. He is unable to see
the consequences of his degenerate lifestyle because the painting bears the
consequences of his transgressions.
Dorian’s inability to distinguish between Art and Life is evident in his relationship with
Sybil. He first meets Sybil when he attends a theatre production in the East End. Dorian
is looking for an ‘adventure’(recommended by Henry) in order to escape his ‘ordinary
life.’ He seeks ‘unreality’ as opposed to reality.
Dorian is captivated by Sybil, yet he has not met her. He falls in love with her beauty and
her acting skills (Art) as opposed to who she really is (Reality). He is actually reluctant to
meet Sybil when invited to do so. This confirms that Dorian is attracted to the characters
that Sybil portrays rather than herself. Hence he loves the illusion and not the reality of
the person.
When Dorian describes Sybil to Henry he focuses on the characters she plays rather
than the woman she is. When Dorian sees Sybil floundering during her performance he
is humiliated and wants nothing to do with her.
Dorian cannot distinguish between art and reality when Sybil dies. He sees her death as
a perfect work of art and a perfect end to their affair. He is able to dismiss her death
since life cannot intrude on the beauty of her death (Art).
There is an element of unreality in Dorian’s constant search for new experiences to
escape the ordinariness of his life. He avoids dealing with the reality of his sinful
behaviour because the portrait bears the consequences on his behalf. He is not held
accountable for any of the dubious acts he commits.
Dorian’s commitment to these ideas is reflected in his use of the yellow book as a
template for his own life. His imitation of the life led by its protagonist is an indication of
how his concept of reality is blurred.
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When Dorian can no longer deny the reality of the ugliness of his soul, he destroys the
portrait and finally reveals the truth of his debauchery.
Lord Henry
Henry sees Dorian as an artistic object on whom he can work. Under his influence
Dorian becomes distanced from reality and emotionless because he is so caught up in
his superficial life.
Lord Henry encourages Dorian to see Sibyl’s death in artistic terms, which allows Dorian
to detach himself from reality.
Lord Henry believes that art is superior to life and he encourages Dorian to live his life as
if it is Art. He states that ‘being natural is simply a pose’, implying that reality is a sham.
He also suggests that being detached from reality and being a ‘spectator of one’s own
life’ protects one from experiencing hardship and misery.
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